But worse than that, worse than the endless, bloody exhausting financial and energy-sapping struggle, was that being a parent on your own when you were totally out of your depth was actually the loneliness place on earth.
-- Narrator (Chapter 1 paragraph 12)

Importance: Jess is very happy to learn that her daughter, Tanzie, is not only brilliantly gifted in math, but will be offered a scholarship to attend St. Anne’s, a quality private school across town. However, Jess’s delight only compounds her concerns as a single parent, which include not only financial issues, but having to handle situations alone. Jess, who does not have her daughter’s obvious intelligence, and who is struggling to make ends-meet, feels as if she is not capable of providing for someone like Tanzie.

There had always been something different about Tanzie.
-- Narrator (Chapter 4)

Importance: Jess, who feels out of her league trying to accommodate her daughter’s obvious gift, feels all...